Quarantine Ideas
We remind the kids every day that we are “safe at home”, not “stuck at home”. And truly, we are blessed. But, sometimes it can be a little overwhelming having everyone here full time. I want to keep them all entertained, educated, occupied, happy…
Here are just a few ideas that may help during this time!
1. Follow my craft idea board on Pinterest! I add ideas to it as I see them, so check it out for some of the things we have tried and some we still hope to try!
We have loved some of these! One true favorite was shaving cream art! Smear down shaving cream in a pan, add drops of food coloring and swirl them in any pattern with the end of a paintbrush. Lay a thick piece of paper on the colored cream and press. Lift up and scrape cream off the paper with a spatula. Look what it leaves behind!
2. Educational apps that make learning fun! I know we all try to limit screen time. But we all need a break and a little help too! There are several we love, but one that the 6 year old can use by himself is Book Prunelle. It’s an ebook platform for kids , featuring powerful stories to inspire them to become the next generation of conscious kids. They tackle challenging topics in an entertaining and child-friendly way to help kids grown mindful and kind-hearted. Cool, right?!
You pay for a subscription by month or year, but right now you can try the first month for free! And you can use the code JESSIMARIEL5 off of either subscription too!
They have books like this one explaining the Corona Virus in terms kids understand!
3. Read with Dolly on Thursdays! The boys both loved this for some reason! Dolly Parton reads a story live on YouTube every Thursday and saves it to her channel to watch anytime. The boys were glued. And mom cleaned the kitchen! 😉
4. Duo appto facetime anyone. Maybe you knew about this? I did not, but was so happy to learn! With this app, any type of phone can video call one another. Now the kids can video call with grandma and grandpa!
5. Neveo journal making! Neveo lets you add photos all month to an app and at the end of the month they put together your pictures and captions into a journal to be send to grandparents, friends, etc. So helpful for keeping up with some of those seniors that can’t get out right now! Use the code SUPPORT for two free months of 50 photo journals!
I hope these little ideas help even a tad bit. Hang in there. Give yourself grace. We’ve got this.
XX,
Jess
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Home Offices
I have been pining away at lots of beautiful home offices lately. There’s a reason… I finally got a job in Iowa! Not only am I completely stoked to be officially living in Iowa full-time, but also, this job allows me to do a lot of my work from home! 😀
This is the perfect set up for me. It will allow me more spare time to get projects done, and we also have the office space set up for me to do it! But, currently our bright red and semi-cramped office space is needing a major spruce. So, enter blogland inspiration.Â
Some photos of offices out there are gorgeous. However, social work doesn’t allow me to be glamorous or clutter my work space with pretties. That leaves me fewer options. I need a functional space that I also feel comfortable and like myself in. Plus, we are hoping to leave the futon on the other side of the room and use the space someday for a partial play-room as well. Oh, and did I mention that I can’t change much as far as items because I am working with a non-existent budged!? Let’s see if I can pull this off…
Here are some faves for you all!
I love the bookcases in this photo. It utilizes the space well, which is what I really need to do!
This office also has great shelving for storage, while also remaining a bit feminine and glam. I need an office that can work for me from everything from my personal business, to kids and family projects, to social work moments.
I also like having my desk in the middle of the room or at least facing outwards instead of towards a wall. It helps if I need to meet with clients. Here is another one like that.
I’m not a huge fan of green walls, but I love the black frames in this office.
This office has been my dream office for years now and was the inspiration for the office in my last house being light blue. This one might end up light blue as well, with the addition of the red items. Again with the black frames!
Another blue office. Reminds me of mine with the couch. Something so sweet about this one!
I adore this desk. Enough said.
This one is so sweet and has that touch of glam I’d love.
I love the outward facing desk in this one too.
Well? What do you all think? I’d love suggestions for my new home office!
My Life Gets Even Busier!
In addition to my full time job, planning a wedding, caring for two puppies and a fiance and decorating our first home, I also get to be a student again now! I just got accepted into grad school! I will be starting my master’s program in forensic psychology online with the Chicago School of Professional Psychology this coming Monday. I am excited and nervous. I will be busy, but that’s the way I like it. So, if my post slow a bit once in a while it may be because I am doing homework! Here are the books for my first term:
Our Office/Den
One of the extra bedrooms in the house has been turned into a den. We added a projector and a futon from my appartment. Its cozy, but still a work in progress. We do like going in there to watch movies, but it needs some work. We plan on mounting shelving along the walls right under the ceiling. We have a sort of music/art theme going, so we would like to set some of our memorabilia on the shelves as a border around the room.Â
The closet in the den has become a mini office. We are both still in school and it comes in handy to have a place to sit at the computer. Tony built a wall mounted desk and we painted it black.Â
From the doorway looking into the den. You can see the futon and the projection shelf. I have a plan for some art to hang along the empty wall.
This is the wall that the futon faces. The bookshelf holds all of our school books. Above that is empty because it is for the projection screen. We have a large frame for the area, but it has yet to be hung. The file cabinet is an old Shaw-Walker that I painted bright red.
A close up of the bookshelves and our fish Van Halen.
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This is the closet office. Tony made this desk for me. I used wire to hang pictures. I'm not sure, but even after editing, it still feels a little cluttered to me. Any suggestions?
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The chair that we are using right now as the desk chair was found in the garbage. I hate to admit that, but it was perfect and I couldn't pass it up! All it needed was a good scrubbing (thank you Magic Eraser!). I thought it was so vintage cute, so I made Tony go swipe it. Gorgeous.
Make Mine Eclectic 
